Agencies
Mumbai, Apr 5:
Stung by comparisons with superstar Rajnikanth, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan on Saturday said no one had the right to question what he has done for Mumbai. "No one needs to question what I have done for Mumbai, for I know what I have done," Bachchan told reporters here.
He was reacting to a question in an article in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana that compared him with Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, who is agitating for Tamil Nadu on the issue of Hogenakkal water project.
The Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Samana said, "several actors, who live in Mumbai achieve fame and glory. But when it comes to taking a firm stand on the issue of Marathi or regional pride, many of them including film star Amitabh Bachchan backtrack."
"But Rajnikant is one of the rare persons who has been true to the culture of. This is because he has taken side of the state which has made him big," the article added. The article referred to the fact that Rajnikant was born in Maharashtra, grew up in Karnataka but became a superstar in Tamil Nadu.
The article headline said Rajnikant has been loyal. The report also questioned how many actors in Mumbai would have the guts to agitate for Mumbai's cause or regional pride.
Article against Amitabh was not my views: Thackeray
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray distanced himself from the article on Marathi pride in party mouthpiece attacking actor Amitabh Bachchan, and said the views published in the paper were not his.
"Amitabh Bachchan is our family friend. I have neither said anything against him nor written against him in the editorial. The hue and cry which has been created by the media regarding the news in Saamna is condemnable. Our relations with Amitabh are not so weak that it can be broken by electronic media news," Thackeray said in a statement.